Click on the play button to listen to report.

This is your Northwest report for Friday, February 10 I’m David Sparks and according to a new Oregon State University analysis, the camelina plant, which shows promise as a biofuel because of the oil contained in its seeds, could become an economically feasible alternative to conventional jet fuel. Jeff Reimer, an economist in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the study’s lead author says:“This biofuel works brilliantly. A number of airlines want to buy it. Further, operators of commercial airports, including those in Portland and Seattle, have a strong interest in U.S.-sourced biofuels, either for diversifying their fuel supplies or for perceived environmental reasons such as a reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the selling points of camelina is that it can be a “home grown” source of fuel with very low production costs. Steve Camp is a farmer near LaCrosse, Washington who has discovered camelina.

CAMP: As far as oil production I’ve always been kind of interested in alternative energy whether it be solar, wind or biofuels and this was an opportunity to progress into the biofuel end of things. SO that started out a couple of years ago I had my crop of camelina commercially crushed and processed so that I could get some biodiesel so that I could run it in some of my equipment to see how things operated.

Elsewhere, according to my northwest.com, A State of Emergency was declared in Whatcom County Washington because of snow, wind, and freezing rain. A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect and the severe weather forced school districts to close for the fourth day this week. In Lynden, for example, there are 3-to-6-foot snow drifts that have buried vehicles.